Saudi sovereign fund PIF set to raise $3.2 bln in Saudi Telecom stake sale

The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, is set raise 12 billion riyals ($3.2 billion) through the sale of a 6% stake in Saudi Telecom (STC) 7010.SE after it priced the deal in a secondary share offering.

PIF set the final price for the sale of 120 million shares at 100 riyals per share, at the lower end of an earlier price range of 100 riyals to 116 riyals per share, according to an announcement on the bourse by one of the deal's lead managers.

The deal, which was marketed internationally, is the biggest equity capital market transaction in the Middle East this year, said a source familiar with the offering.

The Saudi stock index .TASI, which is up nearly 26% this year, has seen a flurry of deals in recent months including the $1 billion IPO of bourse owner, Saudi Tadawul Group, and ACWA Power International's $1.2 billion listing.

PIF owned 70% of Saudi Telecom before the sale.

STC is Saudi Arabia's largest telecoms operator. It also owns subsidiaries and has stakes in companies operating in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

Reuters first reported PIF's plans to sell STC shares in June, which were later confirmed by the sovereign wealth fund.

PIF is the main engine of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to wean the economy off its dependence on oil.